Bounty Hunters: Apocalypse

At first the metal bolts didn't seem to want to budge at all, but once Clark got them moving to start with they were more cooperative. In all, it'd take him at least ten minutes to finish, but thankfully nothing showed up during that time to attack them.

Once the bolts were gone, the door creaked a bit ominously; pulling it out enough to let it fall down on its own should be easy, but that would cause quite a bit of crashing sound.

Clark glanced at Dean. "Hey, help me lower this to the ground." he said.

Once that was done (with or without Dean's help) Clark decided to venture into the impromptu vault.

edited 12th Jul '12 1:31:24 PM by Wysp

Dean set the shotgun on a counter as he helped lower the steel door, "Careful now…", he said as he tried to lower it slowly so little sound was made. When he was done he pick his weapon back up again and followed Clark inside. Although he didn't really think that there would be any zombies or anything alive inside the locker, his body felt really tense, ready to shoot. The silence of the place was…annoying. Usually whenever they entered an empty building there was always some ambient noise around them, but the cooler was more sound proof, which was why the sound was more flat.

He wasn't expecting there to be much food still fresh inside the cooler, but if they were lucky they might be able to find dried goods and sealed jars or (if they were especially lucky) even meat that was sealed in those plastic food saver bags.

As the door came down quietly, Dean and Clark both had their noses assaulted by a foul, dry stench. Five years was a long time, and all the food that hadn't been stored well enough had gone bad; but until they'd searched it entirely, there would be no way to know if any of it was still good.

The freezer was built like a large rectangle, with a row of shelves on either side and another in the middle, with about four feet in between each set, effectively making two walkways. The air that came out once the door was opened was a little cold, and without any windows in or nearby, was very dark. In fact, it almost seemed just a little darker than it should have been.

edited 13th Jul '12 3:07:12 AM by FirockFinion

After Kintra finished loading the guns she goes outside and looks for a way to get onto the roof.

The smell was enough to make Dean cough as he searched around, moving aside a very soggy box that was filled some green gunk. Keeping his arm over his face, he used the barrel of the shotgun to poke and prod at several item on the higher shelves so that he can get a better look at them.

Outside the electronics store, Kintra did find a way up to the roof. Not an easy ladder or staircase unfortunately, but the rear side of the building had collapsed inward, making a climbable if somewhat jagged and steep slope up to the rest of the roof.

Meanwhile, moving along the right side of the freezer, Dean would feel the air get cooler as he got further inside; not abruptly so, but still noticeable. Above, the barrel of the shotgun lightly clinked against something; glass by the sound of it. At almost the same time, Dean's foot brushed against something on the floor.

The darkness was complete enough no less than a foot away, so Dean wouldn't be able to tell what was on the floor. Just that it was entirely on the floor and not moving.

Kintra climbs onto the roof.

"Hey Ross, can you pass the guns up here?"

edited 14th Jul '12 2:04:45 AM by gbrngfol

Huh?, Dean thought as he heard the glass, looking up and trying to find it. He couldn't see anything very clearly as he tried reaching up to grab the object, but his hand just brushed against it and he lost it. At that moment his foot bumped against something and he quickly stepped back, surprised for a moment till he realized it wasn't moving. He felt a bit frustrated at himself for blindly walking in and bumping around in the dark, especially since he might've stepped on something fragile, and started looking through his pockets for something that can give him light.

The first thing he grabbed was a zippo lighter with a bit of twine wrapped around it and flicked it on, but it actually made everything worse as it cast long waving shadows across the floor. As he returned the lighter, his other hand was picking through the other pocket, taking out several items like a bar of magnesium, coins, and some casings that he had picked up but forgotten. It was when he reached into his jacket, that he felt the small cylinder that he recognized as his flashlight next to one of his pistol mags. Glad that he didn't leave it inside his kriss, Dean flicked on the light to take a look at what was on the floor.

Looking up from his work with a raised eyebrow, Ross got up and walked outside, where he looked upward to see Kintra on the roof. "You're planning on staying up there? An interesting plan; good against a lot of things but you'd be pretty exposed if any vampires show up" Ross said, thinking it over. He wandered around to see how Kintra got up there, coming across the collapsed rubble and considering how that would play into things. "Last thing we'd want to do is split our defense when there's no need to, honestly" he added, considering the pros and cons of setting up on the roof rather than inside.

Meanwhile, inside the freezer Dean would be met with not one, but two new discoveries once he got his flashlight on. First, the thing on the floor was a body in old but mostly intact clothes; long dead, obviously, and since it wasn't getting up to attack him, was probably going to stay that way. The second discovery started with the fact that even with his flashlight on it, the body was still partially obscured by a shadow, even though there was nothing in between it and Dean. Well, nothing solid at least; flicking the flashlight upward would cast the rest of the shadow on the back wall and shelves. It was the shadow of a person, positioned to be standing just over the body, hands on its face and elbows rested on the right hand shelf. It was also trembling slightly.

"Check yourself, Dean." Clark warned. From its appearance, he doubted the shadow could be hurt by guns, so he didn't bring up his M82. Instead he kept his Judge in one hand, to quickly respond if something snuck up behind them. He watched the shadow curiously.

It might be a ghost, probably from this sap who tried to hide in here. He thought to himself.

Keeping track of the thing's position was a little tricky since moving the flashlight made the shadow cast somewhere else. But since it was staying in the same place, maneuvering around it was possible by going around the center shelves.

With the shadow staying basically immobile and no other threats, searching the rest of the room was a simple process. The pickings were slim between all the rotten food, but there was a couple cans of tomatoes and a still sealed jar of what was hopefully-supposed-to-be-green peppers.

Finally, visible on one of the top shelves now that Dean and Clark had light, was another couple jars of what looked like some kind of red jam. The catch was that they were close to the shadow; in fact they were likely what Dean had bumped with his gun.

edited 18th Jul '12 2:55:31 AM by FirockFinion

"I was thinking we could get that sniper guy up here. I think you called him Clark." Says Kintra to Ross while trying to work out if the roof was still weak from the collapse.

What parts of the roof were still perfectly horizontal seemed sturdy, at least enough to hold people well. "We certainly could, but if something managed to sneak up on him he'd be in trouble. Plus he'll probably want to sleep sometime during the night. I mean, I certainly would" Ross said, a little jokingly at the end.

"But seriously, that's what I meant before about not splitting our defenses around too much. If we were in a fully fortified position with sturdy defenses, that'd be another story, but we aren't. As effective as putting a sniper up there would be, I'd just as soon not do it unless we're all going to stay up there" Ross explained, hauling himself up the rubble pile just high enough to take a look out over the roof.

"I mean, that's my take on it anyway. Why don't we talk with him about it as soon as he's back from that scavenging?" Ross suggested, moving up a little further and resting his elbows down on the rooftop.

Clark nodded. "Alright. We can use this as a fall-back point, if we can get this shadow out of here." He said. "Should we inform Ross?"

"I guess your right." Replies Kintra, climbing down from the roof.

Dean started slowly backing up towards the door, as he kept the double barrel pointed towards the shadow, "You think it's evil or just shy of us?", he whispered to Clark. For some reason he kept the flashlight pointed at the thing, trying to keep it in his sight. In his head he thought that as long as he kept the light on it, the shadow would stay still. "I don't see many exit routes if we do use this place as a fallback. I'd rather prefer not to get trapped in a kitchen with zombies or demons, if you catch my drift."

"It's either hide in this metal room or run, guns blazing, through a whole city of nocturnal hunters. I personally prefer to keep the situation contained."

He got on his radio. "Found a stubborn shadow in the freezer." He reported. "Doesn't seem to want to leave the dead body on the floor. Hasn't done anything yet. Please advise."

Ross was startled for just a moment as Clark's voice came over the walkie talkie; Ross had nearly forgotten that he had the thing. He tried to think exactly what Clark meant as he grabbed it and prepared to respond. "Shadow, you mean a ghost? Most ghosts I've seen just keep re-acting out some of their last moments before death. Your weapons won't do squat but it'll probably ignore you; just the same though, be sure to stay away from it. Touching it would probably give you a heart attack" Ross responded through the radio.

The shadow meanwhile had turned its head towards the door for a few moments; as just a silhouette, there was no way to tell what expression it had. Then it turned back to the shelves, and slowly reached one arm out into the shelf, as if reaching for something. It pulled its hand back and seemed to look at it; the stance suggested it was holding something in its hand, but nothing was there, shadow or otherwise.

Ross glanced at Kintra, and figured he might as well bring up her idea too. "Hey, while you're on; our latest tagalong had the idea of putting a sniper on the roof for the good vantage point. I'm a little worried that the roof would be vulnerable to vampires, but what do you think?" Ross asked over the radio, giving a nod to Kintra as he did so.

"I'm not liking the idea of being inside an airtight metal room while monsters wait outside. That body doesn't look like it died of old age and since it was inside a locked room with a little bit of food, the person must've either had a heart attack or suffocated. I'll let Ross decided on using it, but if it's our last resort so be it. Once we remove this thing, it be best if we place some ammo so that we can reload if we have to stay inside.", Dean said as he kept the light on the shadow. Is it crying or is it afraid of us? I don't see how it would've gotten inside, unless it could go through walls, so was it trapped inside with the man?, Dean thought as he studied the shadow.

As he watched the ghost, he heard Ross through the radio and understood now why it was acting the way it was. He lowered the shotgun and took a step forward, shining the light at the shelf where the ghost was reaching for. He understood now that it must've been the soul of the man who had died here, but his soul would not rest until it finished its last will.

edited 24th Jul '12 11:06:56 PM by DAcriznips

Big hand wave inbound.

Shortly after Dean and Clark got back, the group got themselves hidden away in defensive positions and prepared themselves to hold out the night. The night itself was tense, but quiet, with the most harrowing moment coming when a runner got a little too close for comfort before wandering away.

When the sunrise finally came, Ross made them wait about an hour before heading out, to 'avoid any late sleepers', as he put it. Progress with the truck was, once again, slow, but thankfully Saint Clair wasn't that far away. It was still morning by the time they arrived, and Ross seemed relieved to be back. They got the truck up near the front door, and Ross asked the front guard to keep an eye on it for them.

There, Ross turned to the rest of the group. "I better go tell George about what we found at Fairfax. It'll be a good chance for me to ask him about any more jobs for us too, so I'll meet you back at our room" Ross told them, and headed for the stairs.

And at the top of those stairs an oddly, yet sharply dressed man in a inevitably ruffled and dusty white suit was waiting just for him.

"Pardon me!" The man said. "If I could share a moment of your time." He stepped down towards Ross, a smile painted wide across his face, priming himself to talk a mile a minute. "The names Richards, Langston Richards, best shot and quickest draw on the western half of this smoldering wasteland we call home. Perhaps you've heard of me?" He pulled out a card with his initials and the image of two crossed revolvers that served as his families' insignia.

"Either way, I'd like to work with you and your eccentric little caravan that I've heard so much about. I'm not above a free demonstration, if needed. "

edited 2nd Aug '12 7:10:11 AM by goodisgood

Ross took a step back in surprise when Langston suddenly stepped down from the stairway to greet him. He took the offered card a little hesitantly, and blinked at it in confusion a few times. Ross looked back at Langston and sized him up for a moment. If it weren't for the fact that his skin wasn't pale and there was no visible fangs, Ross might have given thought to this guy being a crazed vampire.

"Never heard of you, no. We're not a circus act, so unless you're willing to get that suit dirty I'd suggest you find work somewhere else" Ross said, tossing the card back over his shoulder absentmindedly; it wasn't like it would really do him any good in the current environment.

"I wouldn't expect acceptance without some form of proof." Langston said, undeterred. "I'll tell you what; if you'd tolerate it, I could tag along for your next foray into the wild. If you're not impressed, I'll back off, free of charge. The money for whatever I kill will go to you and your team." He sat down on one of the steps.

"But, if the inevitable occurs and you're moderately impressed, I'd be more than willing to overlook your original doubts."

"I wasn't saying you couldn't join. I was just saying don't come crying to me if you get blood on your suit" Ross said with a shrug. "Now, I've gotta go speak with George" he muttered, heading around Langston to go up the stairs.

"Feel free to meet up with the rest of the group in the mean time" Ross added, motioning at the other bounty hunters that came in the door.

That would be, Clark, Dean, and/or Kintra, depending on which of their players are still in.